History 150A History of Ancient Japan
TTH 2-3:45 Cowell Classroom 131
Discussion Section One: Monday 3:30-4:40 PM Earth and Marine B210
Discussion Section Two: Thursday 12-1:10 PM J Baskin Engineer 372
Instructor: Noriko Aso
Merrill 108 until sometime in October, thereafter Humanities 534
Office Hours Wednesday 9:30-11:30 or by appointment
Telephone 459-5371 but if you need to leave a message, use e-mail: naso@cats
Teaching Assistant: Colin Tyner
Office hours and contact TBA
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course covers the history of the peoples living in the Japanese archipelago from prehistoric times through the seventeenth century. The history of ancient Japan is usually presented as the story of the origins of the Japanese people and their culture. The standard conclusion of this kind of history is that the Japanese always have been and always will be a certain kind of people.
Our emphasis, on the other hand, will be on history as a process of struggle and change. As a result, we will not assume the unity of the "Japanese nation" or the homogeneity of the "Japanese people." Instead, we will look at the many ways that people identified themselves over time, "Japanese" being only one possible identity (and one of the least used). The present-day Japanese will be seen to be less the result of a natural progress from the past and more the result of struggles in which some people won and some people lost.
In order to help us envision this kind of history, we will do our best to examine both the familiar histories of the ruling classes of Japan and the experiences of the people usually left out of the history books. We will investigate these groups through visual images, literature, religion and performing arts. Since religion, particularly Buddhism, was an important element of the world view of people in ancient Japan, this course will take up the history of religion in Japan as one of its major components.
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Attendance
a. Attendance for the lectures is expected. While I will not be keeping formal records of individual attendance, the frequency of a student's attendance is generally obvious from the degree of engagement demonstrated in a student's written work for the class. However, should attendance for the class as a whole become a problem, I will begin taking attendance on random days, or giving pop quizzes.
b. Attendance and participation in discussion section is mandatory and will be recorded. Discussion section is your opportunity to work out your ideas or any confusion you might have about the readings. Missing more than two discussion sections will mean failure of the discussion section of the class.
2. Weekly written assignments
a. You must turn in 5 of a possible 8 short (1 page) assignments.
b. The assignments must be typed and proofread.
c. No late assignments will be accepted.
d. Specific topics and further guidelines will be provided in a separate handout.
3. Exams
a. The midterm exam will be held in class. It will consist of a map quiz, identifications and a short essay. A study guide will be handed out beforehand.
b. The final will be a take-home exam due on December 7 at 12 PM. The essay-style exam will be approximately 5-7 pages long. The questions will be handed out two weeks before the end of classes.
4. Overall grading:
a. Discussion section (20%)
b. Short written assignments (20%)
c. Mid-term exam (30%)
d. Final exam (30%)
READINGS (Available from Slug Books)
1. Topics in Japanese History by Gregory Smits
2. Rereading Japanese History, By AMINO Yoshihiko
3. Primary Materials Reading Packet
4. Genji & Heike: Selections from The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike, trans. by Helen Craig McCullough (Stanford University Press, 1994)
COURSE SCHEDULE
Introduction (September 21)
Time, Space, Language and History in the Japanese Archipelago
Reconstructing Japanese Prehistory (September 26, 28)
The Question of Origins
Struggles over Continental Access and Dissemination
Reading:
Gregory Smits, Topics in Japanese History, Chapters 1 & 2 UP TO "The Asuka Period"
AMINO, Rereading Japanese History, "Foreword" and "The Maritime View of the Japanese Archipelago" UP TO "The Birth of Japan" section; recommended but optional: "Translator's introduction"
Reading Packet:
1. Optional: "Kojiki," trans. By Donald Phillipi, pp. 37-52, 55-58, 61-73, 79-86.
2. Required: "Accounts of the Eastern Barbarians" in Sources of Japanese Tradition, v. 1, ed. by Tsunoda, de Bary and Keene: pp. 4-12
The Emergence of Yamato Hegemony (October 3, 5)
Early Belief Systems
Changing Notions of Kingship
Reading:
Smits, Topics, Chapters 2 (finish) and 3
AMINO, Rereading, "The Title of Emperor" UP TO "Multiple States in the Japanese Archipelago" section
Reading Packet:
1. Required: The Ten Thousand Leaves, trans. by Ian Hideo Levy, Book One—#1-4, 50; Book Two—#135-137, 199-201, 220-222; Book Three—#249-256, 338-350, 366, 420, 460-461; Book Four—#619-620; Book Five—886-891 (plus preface), 894-896
Building a State (October 10, 12)
Institutional Religions
Structuring Power: Capitols
Reading:
AMINO, Rereading, "Fear and Loathing"
Reading Packet:
1. Required: Kûkai, "Indications of the Goals of the Three Teachings," in Kûkai: Major Works, by Yoshito Hakeda: pp. 101-139
2. Required: Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition, trans. by Kyoko Nakamura, pp. 108-110, 163-164, 175-176, 197-199, 201-205, 208-209, 257-259
3. Optional: Tales of Times Now Past, trans. by Marian Ury, pp. 172-177, 179-182.
Heian Court Life (October 17, 19)
Heian Government
The Rule of Taste
Reading:
Smits, Topics, Chapter 4 UP TO "The End of the Heian Period"
Helen McCullough, The Tale of Genji, Chapters 1-5
Rise of the Warrior Elites (October 24, 26)
Rise of the Warrior Elites
Kamakura Dual Polity
Reading:
Smits, Topics, Chapter 4 (finish)
McCullough, The Tale of the Heike, Chapters 1, 4-9, 11-12
IN-CLASS MIDTERM (Tuesday, October 31)
On the Margins (November 2, 7)
**Since this segment is split over two weeks, the response paper will be due the second week.
Fixity and Fluidity: Commoners, Estates and Trade
Contested Notions of Good and Evil
Reading:
AMINO, Rereading, "The World of the Shôen Estate and Government Lands" and "Bandits, Pirates, Merchants and Financiers"
Reading Packet:
1. Required: Selections from Shinran: An Introduction to his Thought, ed. and trans. by Yoshifumi Ueda and Dennis Hirota, pp. 185-194, 219-226, 233-236
2. Required: Selections from Rennyo: The Second Founder of Shin Buddhism, ed. and trans. by Minor and Ann Rogers, pp. 144-149, 160-161, 209-212
Staging Contests for Power: The Muromachi Period (November 9)
Reading:
Smits, Topics, Chapter 5
Reading Packet:
1. Required: "Dôgen: Conversations" in Sources of Japanese Tradition, v. 1, ed. by Tsunoda, de Bary and Keene, pp. 240-250
2. Required: "Seami on the Art of the Noh" in Anthology of Japanese Literature, ed. Donald Keene, pp. 258-270
3. Required: "Atsumori," in Masterworks of the Nô Theater, by Kenneth Yasuda, pp. 229-252
4. Required: "The Cowardly Bandits" in The Kyôgen Book: An Anthology of Japanese Classical Comedies, ed. by Don Kenny, pp. 70-75 and 115-120
5. Required: "Records of the Words of Rikyû," in Wind in the Pines: Classic Writings of the Way of Tea as a Buddhist Path, ed. by Dennis Hirota, pp. 215- 245
Warring States (November 14, 16)
Collapse at the Center
Balancing Order and Disorder
Reading:
AMINO, Rereading: "Rethinking Japanese Society"
Reading Packet:
1. Required: Toyotomi HIDEYOSHI, selection from Sources of Japanese Tradition, ed. By Tsunoda, de Bary, and Keene, pp. 316-321.
2. Required: Michael Cooper, They Came to Japan: An Anthology of European Reports on Japan, 1543-1640: pp. 53-71 (Social Relations), 229-248 (Daily Life and Customs), 260-272 (Art and Culture), 275-294 (Cities and Travel)
The Tokugawa System: Decentralized Centralization? (November 21)
Reading:
Smits, Ch. 6
AMINO, Rereading, “Was Japanese Society Agricultural?”
Reading Packet:
1. Required: "The Forty-Seven Samurai" in Legends of the Samurai, ed. Hirosaki SATO, pp. 304-338.
2. Optional: Anonymous, “A Military Chronicle Concerning a Quarrel,” in Readings in Tokugawa Thought, pp. 183-197.
3. Required: MIURA Baien, “The ‘Cooperative of Unlimited Compassion’ of the Village of Tominaga,” in Readings in Tokugawa Thought, pp. 249-252.
4. Required: IHARA Saikaku, “The Eternal Storehouse of Japan,” in The Life of an Amorous Woman, pp. 211-232.
5. Optional: UEDA Akinari, Ugetsu Monogatari, pp. 185-204.
November 23 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Tokugawa Learning: New Approaches to the World (November 28)
Reading:
Smits, Ch. 7
Reading Packet:
1. Required: SUZUKI Bokushi, Snow Country Tales, pp. 3-8, 17-36, 38-47, 68-73, 79-86, 174-179, 199-204, 280-281.
2. Optional: ANDO Shoeki, “A Method for Making the Thieving and Violent World of Law Tally with the World of the Self-Acting Living Truth” in Toshinobu Yasunaga, Ando Shoeki: Social and Ecological Philosopher of Eighteenth-Century Japan, pp. 233-25.
3. Optional: SHIBA Kokan, “A Discussion of Western Painting,” in Readings in Tokugawa Thought, pp. 175-182.
4. Required: OGATA Kôan, “The Twelve Tenets of the Dutch Studies Academy,” in Readings in Tokugawa Thought, pp. 253-255.
Review/Screening of "Princess Mononoke" (November 30)
Final Exam: Due by noon on December 7. Drop off your exams at my office, Humanities 534. If you want full comments, please say so on your exam. If you want your graded exam mailed to you, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. You can also pick up your graded exam by visiting my office the following quarter.
